Chapter 51 "Sister, you and Pei..."

Pei Shuwen simply watched her quietly.

Lin Chaoyue not only acted rashly this time, but her face also turned bright red with nervousness. However, since she had already said it, she couldn't back down now.

Fearing Pei Shuwen would disagree, Lin Chaoyue cautiously forced a smile and explained, "Um, the bed doesn't need to be put back together, I'll just move it there."

Lin Chaoyue looked around and pointed to the most conservative spot.

It was some distance from Pei Shuwen's bed.

Although there's a window right above me, it's still better than sleeping back in the inner room.

When Pei Shuwen didn't agree, the glass in the room rattled a few more times, and Lin Chaoyue nervously clasped her hands together.

If she had known the wind and rain would be so heavy today, and that they wouldn't be able to get down the mountain, she would never have come up with Pei Shuwen today.

And just now.

Sleeping in the same bed is fine, Pei Shuwen won't do anything to her, it's better than waiting anxiously for Pei Shuwen to agree.

Will it work or not?

Pei Shuwen didn't give a straight answer either.

After a long pause, he slowly said, "Okay. But I think this spot is better."

Lin Chaoyue looked in the direction Pei Shuwen pointed.

On the left side of that open space was Pei Shuwen's bed, and on the right was a row of wardrobes. On both sides were a storage cabinet and a somewhat worn-out chaise lounge.

In this stormy weather, such a small space feels incredibly safe.

If I had to point out the only drawback...

That's because this place is too small. Moving here is too close to Pei Shuwen, it's almost like sleeping together again.

"I should have just not gone through all this trouble," Lin Chaoyue muttered to herself.

"Do we still need to move?"

"Move it, I'll go move it right now," Lin Chaoyue replied without hesitation.

Since we're just pretending to be a couple anyway, we might as well go all the way.

However, Pei Shuwen didn't let her move. Instead, he took the pillow from her hand, swapped it with the pillow on his bed, and pushed the bed directly to the inside.

"You can sleep in this one."

Lin Chaoyue blinked and obediently moved to the edge of the bed. When she turned around and saw Pei Shuwen moving a bed in the inner room, she wanted to go and help.

But Pei Shuwen said, "You go up first. It will be inconvenient for you to get in and out once the bed is moved in."

Lin Chaoyue glanced at the small open space in front of her. Once the bed was put back together, there were things blocking the way in front and behind; if she wanted to get in, she would have to climb over Pei Shuwen's single bed.

Lin Chaoyue stopped decisively.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Lin Chaoyue nestled back into bed, where Pei Shuwen's warmth still lingered. On such a stormy night, the small, warm corner felt incredibly safe.

When Pei Shuwen moved the bed, neither of them spoke.

Lin Chaoyue leaned against the cabinet, watching Pei Shuwen's movements. He remained calm, showing little reaction whether they slept in separate beds or together. His movements were always swift and efficient.

He noticed that Lin Chaoyue was staring at him.

Pei Shuwen looked up at her: "What are you looking at? Didn't you say you were sleepy at dinner? Why don't you rest earlier?"

Lin Chaoyue wanted to say "wait until you've moved," but at this moment, the words "wait until you've moved" felt particularly awkward. After circling her lips a few times, she changed it to...

"The lights are still on."

Pei Shuwen got up to turn off the light, then lay back down: "We have to get up early tomorrow, go to sleep."

"Mmm," Lin Chaoyue responded softly.

This time, there wasn't even the sound of moving the bed in the room; only the occasional sound of the wind outside the window and the two people's breathing remained.

Pei Shuwen lay flat on the bed and quietly closed her eyes after getting into bed, but Lin Chaoyue was not sleepy at all. She opened her big, bright eyes and looked around in the dark.

Actually, there wasn't much to see. The bright red bedding wasn't as visually striking after the lights were turned off, so she circled around once, but her gaze eventually returned to Pei Shuwen.

She hadn't been back in China for long.

All told, it's only been two months since I graduated.

But these past two months have been more exciting than the last two years of her life.

Aside from being scammed out of money, the biggest change was Pei Shuwen, and now that change was looming right beside him. Besides this damned weather, half the reason was her own actions.

Drinking alcohol is a bad thing.

Unexpectedly, one day Lin Chaoyue would also act like a hooligan while drunk.

The more Lin Chaoyue thought about it, the more lost she became, and she didn't even notice when she sighed twice.

It wasn't until Pei Shuwen opened her bright eyes in the darkness that she realized it was already past midnight, and she wasn't sleepy at all. She even seemed to have woken Pei Shuwen up.

"Did I disturb you?" Lin Chaoyue felt guilty because she had been facing Pei Shuwen the whole time. From his perspective, she had been watching him.

"No."

Pei Shuwen wasn't woken up; he wasn't sleepy and had been resting with his eyes closed.

He heard Lin Chaoyue's subconscious little movements.

Pei Shuwen glanced at the time; it was 12:30 a.m. The wind had stopped, but the rain was still drizzling down, showing no signs of stopping.

Pei Shuwen: "Can't sleep?"

Lin Chaoyue: "Yeah, I'm a bit of a light sleeper. You go to sleep, I'll fall asleep in a little while."

Lin Chaoyue knew it was getting late, so she obediently closed her eyes after speaking.

After lying down for a few more minutes, she felt sleepy, but the sound of running water under the eaves made Lin Chaoyue feel the urge to urinate.

She felt a little like she needed to use the restroom.

But there was no restroom in the house, so she had to go outside. She was hesitant to go outside because she was timid, and also because she would have to step over Pei Shuwen.

She was still hesitating whether to wake Pei Shuwen.

He had already sat up in bed.

Where are you going?

"Go to the restroom."

"What a coincidence!" Lin Chaoyue's eyes lit up.

"I'll be with you."

Lin Chaoyue was afraid that Pei Shuwen would be too fast for her to keep up, so she didn't care about anything else and naturally moved from her own bed to Pei Shuwen's bedside and put on her shoes.

"Let's go."

The houses in the mountains are all built in a rather simple manner. They were renovated a few years ago when the scenic area owner took over, but don't expect to find a bathroom in the room. Everyone uses the public bathroom outside, which is almost 100 meters away.

It was dark and raining outside, and occasionally strange noises could be heard from the distant mountain bushes.

Recalling what she had heard at dinner, Lin Chaoyue unconsciously moved closer to Pei Shuwen.

Pei Shuwen glanced at her, then switched hands to hold the umbrella: "Hold onto me, the road ahead is difficult."

This time, Lin Chaoyue didn't hesitate and placed her hand directly on top of him.

The mountain road was indeed difficult to walk on, with potholes and puddles in many places. She held onto Pei Shuwen so that she could focus on the road ahead.

Even so, it took the two of them a while to walk the 100-meter distance.

The public restrooms on the mountain were old and cramped, two of the lights in the corridor were broken, and the signs were faded over the years.

Pei Shuwen closed the umbrella.

He pointed to the left: "This is it."

Lin Chaoyue turned on her phone's flashlight and shone it on the screen. There was a large "女" (woman) character painted in pink paint on it, confirming that it was indeed this side.

"I'll go in first then, you wait for me here."

Although she knew Pei Shuwen wouldn't leave, she still gave him a word of advice out of concern.

“I’m not going. The road is slippery in the rain, be careful,” Pei Shuwen said.

Lin Chaoyue slowed her pace slightly, but she was no longer as dawdling as she used to be. Even knowing that someone was waiting for her outside, she found it difficult to be as leisurely as she was at home.

The smell of rotting leaves fermenting, plus the musty odor from the dark, sunless cubicle.

Lin Chaoyue felt nauseous after just one sniff.

I held my breath the whole time until I came out, and then I was able to breathe in some cool air.

Pei Shuwen remained standing in the same spot.

She thought she was fast enough, but Pei Shuwen was even faster.

This time, Lin Chaoyue didn't need Pei Shuwen to say anything; after he reopened the umbrella, she directly took his arm.

"You're pretty fast."

Pei Shuwen glanced at her and said, "Go back."

The journey back was better; the room they stayed in was brightly lit and could be seen from a distance.

The rain will stop soon.

Even if one or two frogs occasionally hopped over the road, Lin Chaoyue would nervously pull Pei Shuwen along.

"This mountain is still quite pristine."

Pei Shuwen: "Yes, when the scenic area was built, only the mountain road was built. Most of the attractions were surrounded by natural scenery. Later, there weren't many tourists, so it wasn't polluted much."

Lin Chaoyue asked curiously, "Did you used to stay here often? You seem quite familiar with this place."

"I stayed here a lot when I first returned to China, but I haven't come here much since I returned to Ningcheng."

Lin Chaoyue's expression became complicated as she thought of something: "Grandma Tian said last night that the room we stayed in was the one reserved for you, so that dilapidated...that house, really was the one you used to live in."

Pei Shuwen: "Yeah, when I come to Yuntai, I don't stay in a hotel, so I come here. Later, I didn't come here much, so I had them convert it into guest rooms."

Lin Chaoyue suddenly realized that Pei Shuwen's adaptability was really strong, strong in every aspect.

He's a rich kid, after all, and he can fit into this kind of environment, unlike the other young masters around her, who are all very spoiled and have to have their mattresses flown in from China if they're not used to them.

She lived a rough life, but it wasn't much better. When she first moved into Pei Shuwen's house, she thought it was too small and not as spacious as Tang Wan's place.

Pei Shuwen didn't care about any of that.

Most of the time, he felt it didn't matter where he lived.

"Did we go to the wrong place? Why does it seem like there's someone in our room?" Lin Chaoyue stopped outside the courtyard. She was about to let go of Pei Shuwen, but when she saw the figure inside the room, she hesitated to lower her hand.

"You've gone the right way. Just go in and take a look. At this time of day, there are usually no outsiders in the mountains."

Despite saying that, Pei Shuwen shifted half a body's distance, blocking Lin Chaoyue's path.

The people inside the house still had their flashlights on; they shone around the room and finally illuminated the outside.

The voice sounded somewhat surprised: "Brother Pei, it's so late, why are you and Lawyer Lin outside?"

The voice that was speaking was Song Shiguang's, and a little girl in pajamas was standing next to her.

Lin Chaoyue recognized the little girl; she was the one who had eaten at the same table with her before and told her about the snakes in the mountains.

She shivered and refused to go any further: "Why aren't you all asleep? Did something get into the room?"

"What's coming in? Water? Don't worry, Attorney Lin, the rain isn't heavy tonight. The houses here are on high ground, so the water won't stay and will flow down the mountain."

That's not what Lin Chaoyue wanted to ask.

Pei Shuwen clearly guessed what Lin Chaoyue wanted to ask, and before closing the umbrella, he asked Song Shiguang, "Come to get the medicine?"

"Ah, I'm here to get medicine. Xiaomei had a slight fever tonight. I was going to get it from Grandma Tian's room, but Grandma Tian's door was locked. I saw the light on in your room, so I thought I'd come here to check on her."

"You guys... just went to the public restroom?"

"Oh, yes, we have a first-aid kit in this room? I didn't see it just now. Why don't you look for it yourselves?"

Hearing that they had come to get medicine, Lin Chaoyue breathed a sigh of relief, but then she thought again that she had looked inside and outside the house and had not seen a medicine box anywhere.

The little girl had actually already found it in the storage cabinet by the bed.

Hearing Lin Chaoyue ask, he even took her hand and pointed over there: "Sister Lin, the first-aid kit is in this drawer. It has all kinds of medicine. If you don't know anything, you can ask me. I know everything."

After saying that, he patted his chest to vouch for it.

What an adorable little girl.

Lin Chaoyue couldn't resist pinching her cheek: "Little girl, you're so smart! What else do you know?"

The little girl in her pajamas looked around.

The last short finger pointed to the two single beds that were not joined together.

"Sister, weren't these two beds pushed together? Why are they separated? Aren't you and Brother Pei a couple?"

The little girl's eyes sparkled, her tiny eyes filled with great confusion.